The use of lights in boats is a necessary requirement when operating a watercraft at night or in low visibility conditions. While the boat is operating on the water, the lights convey the orientation and position of the boat in the water to other watercraft. These lights are commonly known as “running lights” and typically comprise a red light and green light positioned along the bow of the boat and a white light in a raised position along the stern of the boat.
The running light positioned along the stern of the boat is a sometimes referred to as a “pole light”. A pole light consists of a pole or rod with the light located on the upper end of the pole. The lower end of the pole light is then mounted onto the hull so that the light extends upwards away from the hull.
Due to the raised nature of the pole light positioned on the hull of the stern, this pole light is subject to frequent impacts and insults which often result in damage or breakage of the pole light. While broken pole lights are time consuming and costly to fix, failure to maintain an operable pole light while operating a boat at night can result in dangerous conditions and even fines by waterway authorities.
One type of pole light is a detachable from the hull of the boat. A permanent base is mounted to the hull of the boat and the pole and light configuration is inserted into the permanent base. This type of pole light allows for removal of the pole light when not in use to prevent damage. However, upon reattaching the pole light to the hull, the pole light is once again subject to frequent impacts and insults which often result in damage or breakage of the pole light.
Another type of pole light comprises a flexible pole that is configured to bend or flex to resist impacts and insults which often result in damage or breakage of the pole light. Due to the flexible nature of the pole, these flexible pole lights suffer from reduced strength and are even more prone to damage as they lose or gain flexibility due to exposure to the elements over time.
Therefore, a need exists for novel marine navigation light apparatuses and methods. There is a further need for a navigation light that is able to withstand frequent impacts and insults without resulting in damage or breakage of the navigation light. Finally, there exists a need for a navigation light that is able to be easily and conveniently to set up and use on a plurality of boats and watercraft while meeting or exceeding common rules a regulations regarding pole lights.